


Warmth

by AliaMael



Series: Temperature [1]
Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Azuki is the real owner of the UG I don't make the rules, Comfort, Fluff, Gender Nonconforming, M/M, She's also taking over that fic and I'm OK with that, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:08:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 7,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25840102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliaMael/pseuds/AliaMael
Summary: Snapshots of Sanae and Megumi supporting each other, helping each other, loving each other.
Relationships: Hanekoma Sanae/Kitaniji Megumi
Series: Temperature [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1888384
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ~~This is me proving to myself that I'm able to write something not angst.~~
> 
> More seriously: there will be no continuity from chapter to chapter, I'll just write down anything I find cute. I'll probably add more chapters from time to time but unless it grows a plot on me (*stares at their last fic that was supposed to be pure slice of life*) I'll keep it marked as "complete".
> 
> As much as I looooove writing these two suffer, they also deserve to be happy, so I hope you'll enjoy ♥

Sanae would never say that life is _easy_.

Not in general, and not for his own case.

After all, he _cares_. That's what makes him such a good match for Shibuya, for Joshua, but it's also exhausting. Seeing people win the Game and shine brighter for it keeps him going, but all the losses…

He cares, and they disappear, and he goes on. He keeps smiling, because that's how he can best help those who're still there. He keeps painting the town in bright colors and bold images, even when in the privacy of his workshop everything is charcoal and shivering lines.

But he's not the only one caring too much, and somehow that helps. Because he knows Shibuya and Joshua have someone else. Because he's not _alone_.

Because sometimes, when the Game has been especially harsh, Megumi comes to WildKat without needing to be asked and just holds him in silence, Sanae's world shrinking to the steady heartbeat against his ear and the warmth of the body against his.

It's comforting, and even if it doesn't exactly make life _easier_ , it makes it worth it all.


	2. Chapter 2

For a long while, Megumi had thought Sanae unable to sleep.

Sanae always seemed to be up, painting and singing and sewing and all the other mediums of creativity known to humanity. (Megumi had stopped asking how he managed to always find and fit the necessary tools in his workshop when he caught him blowing glass. Now it was just a fact of life that Sanae apparently could do anything creative, and that his workshop probably crossed into another dimension.)

But the point was: Sanae never slept. At first, when they were still walking on eggshells around each other, wary to destroy their blooming understanding, he just confirmed that he didn't sleep and left it at that.

Some months after that, he explained that he didn't need sleep to function.

Some more time, some more trust, and he admitted that he was theoretically able to sleep, that it would be good for him, even, but that he could compensate with other things.

He hadn't answered when Megumi had asked why he didn't sleep, then.

The truth came out by accident. While it took a lot to shake Megumi as long as he was awake, all the hardships of watching the Game run again and again and again slipped through his sleeping mind and he often ended up on Sanae's couch in the middle of the night, trembling hands clutching a mug of coffee, staring into the void while Sanae gently talked to him until he calmed down. On a night worse than all the previous ones, Megumi found himself clinging to Sanae, needing the direct comfort to chase away the lingering nightmare. Eventually, exhausted, he fell back asleep on Sanae's shoulder. When he woke up, disoriented to be in the workshop and not in his bed, it was to discover that Sanae was sleeping like a log in his arms (well, almost under him if he was being honest).

He didn't dare move until Sanae opened his eyes. When he realized what had happened, Sanae became a blushing mess, but by then there was deep trust between them, and so he explained what he never said before.

Sometimes, he felt like his mind and his body were disconnected, and the slightest disturbance could shatter the unstable balance that made him whole. Falling asleep, letting his mind roam free from his body? It _terrified_ him.

But Megumi grounded him like nothing else did. When Megumi held him, it felt like he was holding him _together_. Like he couldn't drift apart anymore.

From then, Megumi made sure to give him a lot of hugs, cuddling with him on the couch, embracing him from behind and looking over his shoulder when he created, and dragging him to bed regularly.

Entangled under the sheets, they both slept soundly.


	3. Chapter 3

Sanae knew he was being ridiculous, but he was getting slightly worried anyway. Usually by this time Megumi would be in WildKat, looking at Sanae's latest project with a wonder that never faded ~~, safe~~. He was not technically late because they never agreed to a time for meeting up, it just happened. There was nothing in this city that could hurt him.

But Sanae worried nonetheless. (Maybe he was becoming a bit dependent.)

The fact that it was winter didn't help. Megumi _despised_ winter. He hated the cold which made him sluggish, physically and mentally.

(Sanae wondered if he had trouble with cold because of his Noise form, or if he had gotten a reptilian Noise form because he already couldn't deal with the cold. So far the question had always slipped from his mind when he was with Megumi, though.)

Unable to concentrate on his art anymore, Sanae closed his eyes to search the city for Megumi's Music. He found him easily: he was in his flat. Sanae hesitated, but finally caved and teleported there.

For half a second, the heap of red that welcomed him threatened to give him a heart attack, but then he couldn't help but smile.

Megumi was in his naga shape, the upper half of his body bundled in a thick jumper, and his serpentine tail tangled in itself. He was just in the patch of sun coming through the window, and he was fast asleep, head pillowed on one of his coils.

With his scales glinting in the evening light, he was breathtakingly beautiful. He was also utterly adorable.

Sanae slowly came closer, mindful to not make noise. Megumi looked peaceful like this and he didn't want to destroy that. He carefully sat down against Megumi, the contact dissipating the last remnants of his earlier worry.

Megumi shifted, and Sanae froze. The tip of his tail extracted itself from the bundle and came to grip Sanae's waist, pinning him in place. Then Megumi settled again. Sanae looked up and couldn't keep from smiling fondly. Megumi had not even woken up. It was pure instinct to hold him close.

Sanae made himself comfortable and closed his eyes, happy to take a nap in the fading sunlight, as long as he was with Megumi.


	4. Chapter 4

The workshop was a mess.

It was the consequence of Sanae working for… (three… four…?) several days straight. There was a new Gatito collection to be released soon and there were so many details he could still make better and–

"Sanae," Megumi cut his train of thoughts.

Given his tone, he had probably been trying to get Sanae's attention for a while, now. Sanae looked up from his notes and had to blink to focus on Megumi. He seemed… fond and worried.

"You're with me this time?" Megumi asked.  
"Uh, yeah."

Sanae was feeling a bit unanchored right now. Talking to Megumi was slightly confusing, which it should definitely not be.

"What… did you want something?" Sanae asked.  
"Did I… you're impossible."

Megumi rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.

"When was the last time you slept?" he went on. "Or ate?"  
"… does coffee count?"  
"No. But how much did you have?"

Sanae looked at his desk and its half empty mug.

"… a lot?"  
"I wonder why I even asked. Come here."

Sanae obeyed. Megumi pulled him into a hug and Sanae melted.

"… you're practically vibrating," Megumi commented.

Sanae had nothing to answer to that.

"Do you really have work left to do that cannot wait?"  
"Well, I need to take another look at that pattern, I'm pretty sure I missed a way more elegant solution for assembly, and–"  
"I said _that cannot wait_ , Sanae."  
"Yeah, and the release–"  
"Is ready as it is. Am I wrong?"

Sanae almost objected, before deflating.

"You're not wrong, no…"  
"So you're going to at the very least take a nap and eat something. I'm not letting you go back to work before that."

Megumi had let a hint of his Conductor tone slip into his voice, the "I'm the one in charge and I won't even consider that someone could disobey" steel that he usually dropped around Sanae. 

Right now, that was exactly what Sanae needed.

So he followed Megumi's directions and gentle pulls until he was lying down in bed, Megumi next to him. They looked at each other in silence for a handful of seconds.

"You're way too keyed up to go to sleep, am I right?" Megumi asked.  
"Yeah."

Maybe running on coffee and adrenaline for days was not his best idea to date.

"Want some help?"

Megumi smiled, revealing his fangs. Sanae stared, used to it but hypnotized each and every time nonetheless. He nodded.

"Alright. I've got you."

Megumi shifted closer; Sanae offered his neck, by pure reflex. Megumi chuckled. Then he gently bit him.

Of course, the breaking of the skin hurt, but Sanae was familiar with the sensation. It was what came after that he sought.

Megumi's venom was a paralytic. For most people, it would be dangerous, but for Sanae it only had a temporary effect. One that forced his muscles to untense, relax, until he couldn't move anymore, but also chasing away all his nervous energy.

In any other circumstance, being utterly powerless like that would be a terrifying experience, but with Megumi hugging him close, their legs untangled, it felt the safest Sanae could ever be.

The exhaustion of the last days finally caught up to him and he let sleep take over, knowing that Megumi would still be there when he'd wake up.


	5. Chapter 5

They never actually decided to give Megumi a workspace in Sanae's workshop. It just happened, somehow. Megumi was not even sure when was the first time he brought work with him at WildKat. It was probably just a boring pile of reports to read, something simple like that, and now, weeks later, he had a desk in a corner of the room and did more paperwork there than in the Dead God's Pad.

(Except for that one week when Sanae had been wood carving. For all that the result was lovely, he just couldn't concentrate with that kind of noise.)

Usually, having Sanae nearby was reassuring, relaxing, and even when they didn't talk for hours it felt _nice_ to be in the same room.

Today, it was utterly _distracting_.

Not that it wasn't nice. More like the opposite, actually. Because Sanae was singing, not even aware he was doing it, judging by the way he seemed focused on a drawing, and his voice was simply too beautiful to ignore.

So Sanae was singing, Megumi was not working at all anymore, and he was staring, mesmerized by how purely _happy_ Sanae looked.

It was not often that Megumi saw him looking happy. Content, relaxed, fond, amused, comfortable, teasing… all of these were familiar, but there was something precious in this simple happiness that made Megumi want to smile too.

So he turned his chair and made himself comfortable, listening and watching in enraptured silence.

When Sanae looked up from his drawing hours later, he seemed confused to see Megumi so focused on him.

"Why are you watching me like this?"  
"You have a wonderful voice," Megumi answered, "and you're beautiful."

Sanae's blush only made him prettier, in Megumi's opinion.

(Megumi ended up working late in the night to catch up on what he hadn't finished, but it was without a doubt worth it.)


	6. Chapter 6

The rain was playing a counterpoint to Shibuya's subdued Music. There was something hypnotic in the different notes it coaxed from the deserted roads, the buildings' roofs, the growing puddles, Megumi's umbrella. The street lights and billboards cast changing colors in every drop of water, turning the streets into a visual symphony as well.

Walking like this at night should have felt lonely, but instead if was gently calming. Welcoming.

(But then, it was Shibuya. Maybe it was only reflecting all the love Megumi poured into the city.)

Megumi was not surprised to find WildKat without any visible light on. He touched to door, feeling the subtle magic keeping it closed more efficiently than any lock. He pushed it open. (WildKat _always_ opened for him.)

He carefully put down his dripping umbrella and went looking for Sanae. The workshop was dark too, and Megumi frowned. Did Sanae choose that night to go out and work on a new mural? If he hadn't found a covered place for his tag, he would soon be back, because even if Megumi had no doubt that Sanae couldn't care less about getting drenched to the bones, the paint would definitely not appreciate it.

Megumi grabbed several towels and made his way back to the entrance, preparing to wait for Sanae. He didn't have time to settle down before Sanae came in, wet hair and clothes sticking awkwardly to his skin. Megumi couldn't contain a fond smile, that morphed quickly into worried curiosity when he realized Sanae had a weird posture, curled up on himself and holding his chest.

"Sanae? Are you alright?"

Sanae startled.

"Oh, yeah, I… I'm good. Didn't see you there."

Megumi offered him a towel; Sanae held out a hand to take it and Megumi saw what he was actually holding, trying to shelter it from the rain.

It was a tiny calico kitten, all wet and looking pitiful.

Of course, Sanae disregarded his own state and began by trying to dry the cat. Megumi rolled his eyes and set up to towel Sanae's hair in a vague hope of keeping him from dripping everywhere.

"So you're adopting a cat, now?" he asked, amused despite himself.

Sanae threw him a surprised look. Megumi paused to dry Sanae's glasses because he was probably not seen much right now.

"I'm not adopting her," Sanae said. "I just couldn't leave her outside in the rain like that!"

Megumi opened his mouth, closed it. Sanae seemed genuinely convinced of what he was saying.

"You're telling me you'll put her back outside once it's sunny again?"  
"I'll let her leave, yeah. Why?"

God. Sanae was not even aware he _was_ indeed adopting a cat.

"You're cute," Megumi commented, his tone fond.  
"Why are you saying this out of nowhere?" Sanae asked, wary.  
"Oh, nothing. Give me that cat and strip before you trail water everywhere."

Sanae obeyed, frowning at Megumi all along, but then Megumi distracted him with questions about what he intended to do for the cat and he forgot to prod Megumi for more answers.

Of course, the cat stayed.


	7. Chapter 7

Megumi stared.

"I… can explain?" Sanae offered, bashful.  
"Can you really?"  
"… alright, I can't."  
"What kind of paint is it anyway? Gouache?"  
"It's oil paint."

Sanae was _covered_ in paint. It was not even just one color, it was mismatched splashes all over him, on his arms, his clothes, his face, even in his hair and on his _wings_. The only explanation seemed to be an explosion, except that Megumi hadn't heard anything.

"Seriously, _how_?" Megumi couldn't help but ask.

Sanae shrugged.

"Things… got out of hand?"  
"Why do you even have your wings out? Nothing about this makes sense Sanae!"  
"Believe me, I'm aware."

Megumi sighed.

"Alright, how do we clean this mess?"

Sanae held up a bottle.

"Turpentine."

Megumi glared.

"Are you really considering bathing yourself in turpentine?"

Sanae hesitated.

"I… suppose that's not the best idea, alright."  
"You don't say."  
"Hey, I usually only clean brushes and rarely little stains on cloth!"  
"I get it," Megumi conceded. "But there's probably another way?"

Sanae sent him a nervous grin that said it all. Megumi pulled out his phone to check internet.

Two minutes later, Megumi was rubbing dish soap on Sanae's feathers, trying to get the pigment to detach itself.

"Why does it have to be lemon?" Sanae complained.  
"Not my fault that's what you bought for the café," Megumi threw back.  
"It's fine when I wash dishes! You're trying to drown me in that stuff!"  
"I'm trying to prevent you from looking like an abstract painting for the next weeks. Stop fidgeting."  
"It tickles!"

Sanae pouted for most of the process, but Megumi was stubborn (he just felt very stupid for forgetting that some of Sanae's feather were not white and trying to clean them for half a minute). Eventually he pushed Sanae in the shower, hoping it would all rinse off correctly. Fitting the wings was an interesting topological exercise, but it paid off.

Sanae low-key sulked for a handful of minutes after that, but then he thanked Megumi for his help (and patience).

Lemon scented dish soap got banned from WildKat forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I saw [divisionten](https://archiveofourown.org/users/divisionten/pseuds/divisionten) talking about how dish soap was used to clean birds getting covered in oil and then pointing at Hanekoma's feathers and I couldn't help myself. Thanks for the inspiration ♥


	8. Chapter 8

Sanae was singing and trying to play guitar. "Trying" being the keyword. With an overexcited kitten on his lap pawing at the guitar, it was not exactly an easy task.

But then Azuki had blessedly no interest in paintbrushes whatsoever, so Megumi supposed they were overdue for some kind of kitty mischief. It was kinda cute, and Sanae was not even seriously deterred, smiling down at Azuki while doing his best to keep the instrument out of her reach.

Alright, it was adorable. Not very impressive on the musical quality, but adorable.

After a while, Megumi took pity on Sanae.

"Here, give me that," he said, not hiding his amusement.

Sanae lifted the guitar to pass it over Azuki's head and put it in Megumi's waiting hands.

"You know how to play that?" Sanae asked.  
"Well, I was thinking of taking the furball off of you," Megumi admitted, "but I guess this works too?"

It had been a while, but his fingers automatically sought the strings like he had never stopped playing, so maybe he would not be too much of a disaster. The chords for the song Sanae had been singing were not overly complicated anyway.

Concentrated on the instrument, he realized only after a full minute that Sanae was staring in silence. He had a hand clamping down on Azuki, keeping her from jumping to Megumi like she very obviously wanted to, but other than that his full focus was on Megumi.

"I… am I doing that badly?" Megumi asked with a nervous smile.  
"What? No, not at all! I just had no clue you knew how to play. It's… it's nice."

Megumi felt himself blush.

"It would be nicer with your voice," he threw back.

There. Now Sanae was blushing too, which was only fair.

After that Sanae often came to him for accompaniment whenever he wanted to sing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit for Azuki's name goes to [@Willow_Bun](https://twitter.com/Willow_Bun)! (And to be honest I have them to thank for at least half of the more general ideas for these scenes too.)


	9. Chapter 9

When Megumi had entered the workshop, Sanae had been rummaging in a closet. So far so good, but when he had victoriously emerged with a hand-held circular saw and a predatory grin, Megumi had started to consider a strategic retreat.

"Hey Megs!" Sanae had joyfully greeted.  
"… are you going to need my help to hide a corpse?"  
"I'm making a cat tree!"

Yeah, definitely time to retreat. At the first sound of the saw, Azuki had run out of her hidden place and tried to leave with Megumi. He had relocated her as far from the workshop as possible while staying in the building and locked behind him.

He was now almost at the Dead God's Pad, his footsteps echoing in the silence of the Shibuya River… when he heard something falling in the water, immediately followed by an angry "meow".

"Seriously…?" he sighed.

He wasted no time in fishing Azuki out of the water. She looked at him, all wet and pitiful.

"How did you even get out of WildKat?" he muttered.

She pawed at his hand and he changed his hold on her.

"Now that you're here, I'm not letting you run around unsupervised," he told her firmly.

Then he entered the Pad, and all hell broke loose. He just had the time to close the door behind him before Azuki escaped from his arms and jumped on the closest fish visible through the floor. The fish ignored her; she chased after it, getting more and more excited.

Megumi had exchanged an artist armed with a circular saw for a hysterical kitten.

Well, at least Azuki was quiet –mostly, he mentally corrected when she ran into one of the foosball table's legs. It didn't stop her from running all around the room wildly, sliding on the floor when she failed a too tight turn. Megumi watched her for a while, half to make sure she was not hurting herself and half because she was honestly way too cute. Then he sat down to actually work.

He had no idea how much time had passed when the Composer's voice startled him.

"My, Megumi, bringing a pet to your workplace? How suddenly rebellious of you!"

Megumi looked around until he found Azuki jumping almost in place, focused on yet another fish.

"I didn't _bring her_ , Sir."  
"Oh? She just showed up?"  
"Well, she followed me."  
"And you didn't stop her. Sounds very much like _bringing her_ to me."

Megumi couldn't help but stare at the Composer.

"She was _locked in_ and she followed anyway. Have you ever tried to stop a cat?"  
"… you're Shibuya's Conductor and _you can't stop a cat_ ," the Composer said, skeptical.  
"With all due respect, Sir, I'm not sure you'd do better."  
"Hmm. What's her name?"  
"Azuki."  
"Oh, so she's _Sanae's_ cat!"

Megumi tried and failed to contain a chuckle.

"Yes, she is," he admitted easily.

The Composer went to Azuki and tried to get her attention, which only worked when she ran straight into his legs. She let herself get petted, and Megumi cautiously turned his focus back on his work. If anything went wrong, he was reasonably sure he would _hear_ it.

Of course he lost track of time again, and when he surfaced it was to discover that the Composer had left and the Officers were coming in for the scheduled meeting. Azuki stared at each one from her perch on the counter. Higashizawa ignored her. Konishi let her expression turn slightly disapproving before smoothing it away. Sho _ran to Azuki_.

Megumi stood, ready to call him away, but Sho was already hugging Azuki close, cooing at her. And she was apparently very happy with that. Megumi blinked, destabilized, then decided to just launch the meeting.

"Officers, we're here to discuss the upcoming Game…"

Konishi nodded; Sho sank to the floor, whispering to Azuki:

"Shhh, you heard him, now we have to be quiet cutie pie!"

Megumi opened his mouth to say something to Sho, then realized it was the first time Sho had actually a reaction somehow adapted to a meeting. Kinda. Yes, he only had eyes for Azuki, but he was not grumbling nor looking ready to bolt from the room.

Now that Megumi thought of it, he had never seen Sho so relaxed.

Azuki seemed perfectly content to stay on Sho's lap for now, so Megumi accepted the inevitable and just went on.

After the meeting, Higashizawa and Konishi left. Sho was still petting Azuki, smiling down at her. She had finally fallen asleep. When the silence went on for a while, Sho looked up, realized he was alone with Megumi and reflexively held Azuki a little bit closer.

Megumi crouched next to him.

"She's not my cat," he told Sho in a low voice.

Sho seemed heartbroken and wow, Megumi would never have thought he would one day feel the need to comfort him but here he was.

"You should come to WildKat sometimes," he gently added. "I'm sure Azuki would be happy to play with you."

A hopeful smiled bloomed on Sho's face.

"Thanks," he said, and somehow that simple word sounded far more respectful that all their past interactions.

He still looked a bit sad when Megumi took Azuki from him, but when he nodded at Megumi before leaving, Megumi knew he would stop by the café soon.

(Back at WildKat, Sanae was covered in sawdust, but his cat tree was indeed impressive.)

(Sho became a regular.)

(The Composer grumpily admitted two weeks later that Azuki was an unstoppable force, and it took all of Megumi's willpower not to laugh.)


	10. Chapter 10

Megumi watched Sanae try to install a TV screen in the workshop.

Given that neither of them had expressed any interest in television at any point, it was a bit confusing, but Sanae was in the midst of precariously balancing the screen on a seriously too small space on a shelf so Megumi didn't dare interrupt him. (How the room could at the same time be the most cluttered place Megumi had ever seen _and_ stay miraculously livable was possibly Shibuya's greatest mystery.)

Sanae finally took a step back, apparently satisfied.

"Sanae? Just… why?" Megumi asked.

Sanae turned to Megumi and pointed at a pile of boxes on a table that Megumi had overlooked so far. The labels read "Wii U", "Nintendo Switch", "Splatoon" and "Splatoon 2".

"You… are getting into video games," Megumi said.  
"Maybe, maybe not. Josh gave me these, he told me I would enjoy them. It's about fighting with paint apparently?"

Sanae got the Wii U out of its box and frowned at it, obviously unfamiliar with the console. Megumi tried not to wonder too much how the Composer could have heard of these games. The cutesy and colorful pictures on the boxes didn't match _at all_ with the vision he had of Him.

Nineteen hours later, Megumi was very respectfully entertaining the fantasy of bashing His skull in with a game controller.

"Sanae, _please_ take a break from this damn game."

Sanae hummed distractedly.

"Don't _mhm_ me, I know you didn't even register what I'm saying! Did you at least eat at some point?"

No answer. Megumi sighed and resisted the urge to facepalm. Who would have thought that Sanae would get utterly, completely, 300% addicted to video games in not even a full day? (Well, maybe it was only Splatoon. Megumi prayed he would never be exposed to other games to test that theory.)

The lack of sleep didn't seem to slow Sanae's reflexes, given how he was gleefully throwing paint at his enemies with a paint roller that was possibly bigger than his character. He was now playing on the Switch so Megumi could only guess Sanae had finished the first game at some point during the night.

And alright, now that Megumi was actually looking, he could understand how the aesthetic of the game could appeal to Sanae. Covering urban spaces in bright colors? Totally his jam. The music was not half bad either. And well, maybe there was some instinctive pleasure in just _splashing paint around_ because Sanae was grinning like a little kid.

It was cute. It was _seriously_ cute but right now Sanae was _his_ little kid to cajole into eating and sleeping and that promised a hell of a headache.

Eventually, Megumi managed to coax Sanae into eating by promising he would play with him afterward.

And so here he was, holding the Wii U like it would bite him while Sanae babbled about how only the first game had a real local 1v1, and he was giving Megumi the Wii U because he wasn't used to playing with the Wii controllers so that would be slightly fairer as they would both struggle with controls, and how the different weapons worked, and he had already lost Megumi by then.

Sanae kindly let him experiment a bit with his paintgun before attacking him. Then he utterly destroyed Megumi with a paint brush and a maniacal laughter.

Megumi found he didn't mind. It was nice seeing Sanae so ridiculously carefree.

(And OK, that one time Megumi managed to snipe him from afar he felt pretty powerful.)

After a while Megumi let Sanae go back to dominating players through the online mode, smiling at how much fun he was so obviously having.

A week later, Sanae had blessedly toned down his obsession enough to go back to a more healthy rhythm, but he still played at every occasion.

"Sanae? The Composer told me He heard there was an expansion planned for Splatoon 2…"

Cue eyes full of stars.

"… and that the team working on it was maybe not totally complete. I think you should apply," Megumi finished.  
"You… you really think I could…?" Sanae asked, all shy and uncertain.  
"You… of course you could! You're an awesome artist, and on top of that you're _popular_ , they would be overjoyed to have you! And you just _vibe_ so much with the games, you'd be a perfect match!"

Sanae still looked unsure, but he was also thoughtful, so maybe he would get over his fanboyish insecurity soon enough.

When he got an enthusiastic answer to his application, he actually screamed in joy.


	11. Chapter 11

Somewhere in the building, Sanae was humming mindlessly. Megumi couldn't help but smile, feeling the tension of the meeting he had just left slowly melt away. (Letting Konishi screen the new Reapers –and scare them to her heart's content– would probably be a good idea before including them in full team meetings.)

Megumi crossed the empty café in silence, following his ears upstairs. 

Sanae was in the bathroom, staring intently at his reflection in the mirror, holding a brush. A _makeup_ brush.

Megumi must have made a sound because Sanae abruptly turned to him and froze like a deer in headlights.

"I… uh…" he began before trailing off.

Megumi was still trying to process the fact that Sanae had golden… eyeshadow? Was it the correct word? Anyway, his eyelids were painted gold, his eyelashes had never looked so long… He had done _something_ to his cheeks Megumi didn't quite understand but it looked subtly different.

He was also wearing lipstick, and just one minute before Megumi would have been seriously doubtful about putting makeup on Sanae, but now he could only notice that it _fitted_ him.

What did _not_ fit him was the frightened expression he had.

"Is something wrong?" Megumi asked.

Sanae blinked.

"I… you… what?"  
"I'm sorry if I startled you," Megumi added.  
"… I didn't think you'd be here so early," Sanae admitted, looking down.

He was fidgeting with his brush, obviously nervous.

"Don't let me stop you," Megumi said. "I can occupy myself while you finish. Or Azuki will find me and you'll need to come and save me at some point."  
"You… you don't mind?"

It was far too evident he was not talking about making Megumi wait.

"I don't mind at all," Megumi gently answered. "And anyway, I have no right to judge what you do with your body. OK," he added, "I'd say something if I thought you were putting yourself in danger, but that's not the case here. And it's pretty," he concluded with a smile.  
"You… were staring."

Megumi winced.

"I was," he admitted. "I'm sorry it gave the wrong impression. I was _surprised_ , yeah, but that's all."  
"Really?"

Megumi rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, really. Though I probably shouldn't have been, because _of course_ you excel in literally everything artistic, and makeup definitely qualify."

Megumi watched as Sanae slowly relaxed, until he was smiling shyly.

"Thank you," Sanae said.  
"You're welcome."

Then Sanae's (very distracting) painted lips turned into a grin.

"Does that mean I could experiment on you?" he asked, fluttering his eyelashes.  
"Uh… Give me a bit more time to wrap my mind around it, but maybe?" 

And alright, Megumi was not exactly comfortable with this idea (not yet anyway), but it was more than worth it for the way Sanae went back to being totally at ease for the rest of the day.

(In the end, seeing him so softly happy was not only heartwarming, but it also made Megumi reconsider his doubts about being turned into a guinea pig. If that was the effect it had on Sanae, well, the worse that could happen was probably a heated argument about what colors to use.)

(A few days later, Sanae won said argument.)


	12. Chapter 12

It had taken a while for Megumi to realize that even though Sanae didn't _dislike_ cooking, he didn't especially _like_ it either.

Given the amount of food Sanae prepared during an average week, Megumi considered he could be excused for being a bit slow on the uptake. Of course, like in any artistic endeavor, Sanae was competent and versatile. Main course or dessert, Japanese dishes or recipes from all over the world, Sanae could apparently cook everything, which only furthered the assumption he enjoyed it.

It was only when, after a disastrous evening of cleaning up after two new Reapers who had seriously, _seriously_ fucked up, Megumi was greeted at WildKat by a _mountain_ of crepes that he began to wonder if maybe he was missing something.

Once he started paying attention, it was actually pretty obvious.

Each time Sanae was confronted to the most insufferable moods of the Composer, he went straight for recipes that called for a _lot_ of knife work or use of strength and endurance. (Watching Sanae murder carrots or knead dough as if it had personally offended him was actually kinda amusing, even if Megumi knew better than letting it show. And honestly he could empathize, even if his own emotional reaction to the Composer at His worst tended more toward hiding under his blanket in a ball of misery.)

(The fact that more often than not Sanae lured him out with delicious food made it easier, though.)

And then there were the times when something in the Game went pear-shaped and Sanae couldn't intervene, which lead to recipes that didn't exactly allow to leave the kitchen.

Which is why when Megumi entered WildKat to find Sanae glaring at a saucepan filled to the brim with milk, looking like he was about to boil _faster_ than said milk, he immediately tensed. Rice pudding days were _bad_ days, and usually Megumi only got to see the finished product because he had been too busy doing damage control.

"What the fuck did I miss?" he immediately asked.  
"Why would you have missed something?" Sanae answered through gritted teeth.

Megumi rolled his eyes. Not that Sanae could see him anyway, with how (legitimately) focused he was on his saucepan waiting to explode.

"You only cook when you feel the need to stop yourself from ripping into someone. Or possibly choking them. And usually _I_ am the one making sure the responsible for that never messes up again. So: what did I miss?"

Sanae glanced at him, then sighed.

"You debrief the week only tomorrow, right?"  
"Yeah…?"  
"Well, you're missing two Reapers. They were _not_ Erased by Players."  
"What the… _who the hell did that_?!"  
"I'm not saying before you calm down. I won't have you go murder your subordinates."  
"Fucking watch me."  
"Can't, I'm watching the milk," Sanae deadpanned.

It threw Megumi out of his growing anger. He grabbed a chair and sat next to Sanae, leaning against him. Sanae slowly relaxed.

"It was an accident," he eventually said. "But it was definitely caused by stupidity."  
"I'll make sure it can't happen again," Megumi promised.  
"I know."

They stared at the milk in silence for a while.

"How can you not go mad waiting for that saucepan to erupt?" Megumi finally asked.

Sanae shrugged.

"I'm probably going a bit madder each time I make rice pudding."  
"I suppose I'll need to better train my Reapers, then."  
"You love rice pudding," Sanae pointed out.  
"I'd rather have you calm and happy."

In the corner of his eyes, Megumi saw Sanae blush. They both gradually relaxed and, when they could finally stop keeping watch on the saucepan, neither of them wanted to punch a Reaper into a wall anymore.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brought to you by: this is exactly my situation right now (except I use a pickles jar instead of a mug).

Sanae was at his sewing machine, Megumi typing something on his laptop in his corner of the workshop, when the electricity went out.

Sanae froze, then carefully switched his machine off before looking up. The only source of light in the room was now Megumi's screen, and Megumi was looking at him, confused. From outside WildKat, Sanae could hear some screams of surprise that confirmed the whole street was affected.

“Uh,” he said.

Megumi repressed a chuckle, but Sanae saw his smile.

“How eloquent,” Megumi commented.  
“Well, let's hope it gets fixed fast? Why is it even down anyway?”

Megumi shrugged.

“No clue. The weather is clear, I don't think I heard anything about electrical work in the district...”  
“Uh,” Sanae repeated.

This time Megumi couldn't stop himself from laughing.

“Your brain kinda died with your sewing machine, right?” he teased.  
“Maybe,” Sanae admitted. “I was really focused and, well...”  
“Yeah, I know how you get when you're forced to stop in the middle of something.”

Sanae shook himself. He got up and prudently made his way through the workshop toward one of the cupboards. He opened it and tried to remember where exactly the damn things were.

“What are you looking for? Need me to come with the computer?” Megumi asked.  
“Nah, thanks, I'm good...” Sanae said distractedly, a hand feeling under a pile of cloth. “Got it!”

He managed to get out the candles without making anything else fall, which was possibly a minor miracle. He turned to Megumi with a grin.

“Got fire for me darling?” he singsonged.

Even in the low light, it was impossible to miss how Megumi rolled his eyes. He did dug a lighter out of his pocket, though. Sanae joined him, grabbing an empty mug on the way, and lit one of the candles before melting its base to stick it upright in the mug.

“There.”

Now that he could see the room a bit better, he searched for a good spot to place his light source. He eventually settled on the corner of one of the tables.

For a while, there was only silence, interspersed with muffled exclamations coming from the outside.

“It's pretty,” Sanae finally said.  
“It is,” Megumi admitted. “But given the amount of flammable stuff in there, you'll pardon me for being a bit nervous.”  
“Relax, why do you think I made sure it was secure in a mug? As long as we don't knock it down it's perfectly safe.”

Megumi nodded, then looked down at his laptop. He sighed.

“I have enough battery to go on working but it somehow feels… wrong.”  
“I think I get what you mean. The whole atmosphere is different, it's weird to just go on.”

Megumi hesitated a bit more, then pressed a few keys before closing down the laptop. Only the warm light of the candle bathed the room now.

“Enjoy the moment?” Sanae asked.

Megumi smiled.

“Enjoy the moment,” he confirmed.


	14. Chapter 14

While it was true that Sanae tended to move around a lot when he created, it actually depended on the craft.

(Megumi had tried several times to convince him to clear out at least part of the clutter in the workshop, worried Sanae would trip over a bag of fabric, a can of paint, a plank… Each time, it lasted half a day at best and then chaos came back. Too many works in progress, and way too much raw material.)

Sometimes, Sanae just couldn't walk around. A loom was not exactly easy to move, after all. Neither was a piano. Sometimes… well. Azuki had been way more efficient than Megumi at making him settle down. Because yes, Sanae had been prone to knit, crochet or embroider _while walking_ , but that was before he discovered that Azuki would get into his threads 100% of the time if said threads were moving, but only one time out of five _tops_ if he just sat down.

(All in all, Azuki was impressively uninterested by Sanae's crafting supplies, which was a major miracle.)

So Sanae was on the couch, surrounded by yarn skeins in bright colors, with his last crocheting project growing on his lap. The stitches were simple, but juggling that many colors was more challenging –as was the fact that he was modifying the pattern as he went, which added a sheet of paper and a bunch of markers to the mess around him.

At some point Sanae distractedly pulled on one thread, needing more length to finish his current set of stitches, but it appeared to be stuck.

“Azuki,” he scolded without looking up.

In answer, he got a chuckle. He blinked himself out of his hyperfocus and discovered Megumi standing in front of him.

“Meow,” Megumi grinned, holding up the skein Sanae was working with.  
“You… uh… sorry.”  
“She's asleep on her tree,” Megumi offered before putting down the yarn and trying to find a spot to sit. “I thought the workshop couch was a legend, but no, we do have one, wow,” he went on.

Sanae rolled his eyes, even if he couldn't hide his fond smile.

“How come you're already here?” he asked. “I thought you had a meeting this afternoon...”  
“Yeah, and I went to the meeting,” Megumi smiled, “held the meeting, finished the meeting, _and_ walked to here. It's already evening.”  
“… it is?”  
“When did you start this?” Megumi asked, pointing to Sanae's work in progress.

Sanae _looked_ at what he had done for the first time and realized that, well, yeah, even if he was fast there were obviously hours of work in that already.

“Alright, I believe you,” Sanae said.  
“What's it, by the way?”  
“A C2C blanket.”

There was a silence.

“Isn't that a French band?” Megumi asked, confused.  
“What?”  
“C2C.”  
“No! Well, I mean, you're probably right,” Sanae amended, “I've yet to see you wrong about anything related to music, but here it means corner to corner. It's the way the blanket is constructed, with diagonals...”

Megumi nodded slowly.

“Makes sense...”

Sanae threw him a happy smile and reached for his yarn. Megumi was faster.

“Megs!” Sanae pouted.  
“Dinner first, craft after you've eaten.”  
“But–“  
“No buts, you won't finish a whole _blanket_ in one go.”  
“… you might have a point.”

Sanae reluctantly disentangled himself from his yarn to get up.

“I _could_ make a C2C C2C blanket, though,” he added as an afterthought.  
“Sanae, one blanket at a time is enough.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this last line is totally a callout to myself ='D


	15. Chapter 15

Megumi sighed. He could hear Minamimoto try to stifle a laugh behind him, but decided to pay him no mind. The creature purring on his shoulder was enough to focus on.

He pushed WildKat's door open, and resisted the temptation to let it close on Minamimoto, holding it for him instead.

“Welc… oh it's you two,” Sanae smiled from the counter. “How...”

He trailed off, his eyes glued to the thing riding on Megumi's shoulder.

“Is that… a Noise cat?” Sanae eventually asked.  
“Apparently,” Megumi deadpanned.

Minamimoto sniggered, grabbing Sanae's attention. Sanae looked down.

“Three Noise cats,” he corrected. “Uh… what the fuck?”  
“Ask Minamimoto, I have no clue,” Megumi said.  
“I made them,” Minamimoto explained proudly, with just a hint of childish glee that made it difficult to get mad at him. “This one is Sine,” he added, pointing to the mostly yellow Noise curiously pawing at a bar stool, “this one is Tangent,” a darker Noise with bright blue streaks, half hidden behind Minamimoto's legs, “and the one in Megs' arms is Cosine!”

Said Cosine was mostly red, and was happily purring as if it was a real cat.

“I thought Azuki was more than enough for you,” Sanae commented.  
“And I stand by that,” Megumi hurried to say, “thank you very much. This creature just doesn't want to let go of me, it's either holding it or getting claws in my arms!”  
“It likes you,” Minamimoto grinned.  
“Well, I would be more flattered if it didn't threaten my physical integrity...”

Sanae walked around the counter and crouched in front of Sine, holding out a hand to it. The Noise stared, then cautiously let itself be petted.

“Alright, I'll admit I'm impressed,” Sanae said. “Never saw a Noise like that.”

Minamimoto glowed at the praise. Megumi frantically tried to remember if he had ever plainly and clearly congratulated him on anything, because he couldn't remember ever seeing Minamimoto so… joyful?

“No one ever saw a Noise like that,” Megumi finally said. “It kinda disrupted the meeting.”  
“Not my fault these yoctograms can't handle genius,” Minamimoto grumbled, immediately defensive.  
“It would probably have gone better if we'd known beforehand about them, but Konishi and Higashizawa both were… surprisingly unprofessional,” Megumi admitted.  
“Oh?” Sanae asked.

Megumi turned his head to glare at Cosine before it could try to chew on his hair.

“Well, after the understandable moment of freak out, because let's be real, we were all surprised to see a new form of Noise,” Megumi explained, “it was calm for a while. Then Sine got curious and approached Konishi's documents, and she… uh, she lost it. Said she would Erase it without hesitation if it so much as touched her stuff.”  
“As if I'd let her,” Minamimoto intervened.  
“And then Cosine decided it liked me, and Higashizawa just couldn't stop staring,” Megumi concluded.

Sanae giggled.

“Sounds like fun.”  
“No it was _not_ fun!” Megumi protested. “I don't care about having weird pets at the meetings but if Konishi and Minamimoto try to kill each other over it that becomes way too stress-inducing!”  
“Does that mean I can keep bringing them as long as I can make sure they don't bother Konishi?” Minamimoto asked.

Megumi groaned. It was true that cats helped Minamimoto calm down and actually _listen_ , so…

“If it's possible, I think bringing only Tangent would be best, at least for now,” he conceded.

Minamimoto pouted, then slowly grinned.

“Yeah, probably best, else you'll steal _my_ cat,” he teased.  
“I don't want to keep it,” Megumi denied.

Suddenly, Tangent climbed over Minamimoto, somehow settling on the top of his head, throwing spooked glances toward the stair… where Azuki was frozen, staring at the three Noise one after the other.

“Oh, god...” Megumi sighed.

(A few hours later, when Sanae finally managed to coax Minamimoto and his mathematical felines _out_ , a few facts had been established: Sine could get into _anything_ , Azuki and Tangent strangely got along, and Azuki hated Cosine with a passion, apparently jealous that it had tried to steal one of _her_ humans. Megumi couldn't get her to stop shadowing him for the next few days, to Sanae's endless amusement.)


End file.
